All Sting's fault
by ShadowsInTheConer
Summary: "Sometimes, as he stared into the darkness, Sting wondered if it was all his fault." The last of Sting's thoughts drift through Rogue's shadow, and Sting wonders if he really is to blame for Frosh's death.


Sometimes, as he stared into the darkness, Sting wondered if it was all his fault.

 _After all, if he had been there, it would not have happened._

 _Frosh would still be alive._

He knows the blame does not fall on him. He has clung determinedly to this fact for the past… for however long he had been in the darkness.

( _Since Rogue killed him_ )

That thought…

( _It was not his fault_ )

…it what has let him keep his sense of self.

But now…

 _If he had been there…_

He is starting to wonder of it is his fault.

 _He said he would be there._

 _But he was not._

( _He wanted to be!_ )

 _And Frosh died._

( _Because Rogue could not protect him._ )

 _He told Rogue he would be there._

 _It was his job as a Twin Dragon Slayer to protect the exceeds when Rogue could not._

That was what The Twin Dragon Slayers team was founded on that idea, on that vow.

'I'll protect them when you can not.'

'I'll be there when you are not.'

But then Sting became Master of Sabertooth…

And he could not be there anymore.

( _But it was not his fault_ )

 _It was his fault_

( _No! He wanted to be there._ )

 _Why did it matter that he wanted to be? He was not._

 _And now Frosh is dead._

( _So is Lector! And Yukino and Minerva and Ogra and Rufus and all the rest of Sabertooth!_ )

 _If Sting had not let Frosh die they would all still be alive!_

( _Rogue is one who killed them!_ )

( _Rogue killed Sting!_ )

Rogue killed Sting.

They were allies, they had been friends for years…

 _But then Sting broke his vow._

And Rogue killed him.

Rogue- his ally, his partner, his friend- killed him.

( _No! No, it wasn't-_ )

Sting cut off the thoughts pounding on his mind.

When he panicked, dark thoughts- _Rogue_ 's thoughts slipped in.

( _It had not been his fault._ )

He knew that.

It had not been his fault.

So why did he so guilty?

Frosch had died while he had been relaxing at the guild.

He knew that.

He still remembered coming down stairs, having finally finished his paper work, and somehow hearing Rogue scream.

He still remembered lying on the ground, hearing nothing but Rogue's scream, aware of nothing but despair.

 _Absolute despair._

( _Rogue's despair_ )

If he had been there…

He could have helped.

 _But he was not._

But he was not.

 _He should have been._

He should have been.

He had promised to protect Frosh.

He failed that promise.

 _It was his fault._

( _No. No, he wanted to be there._ )

 _So, what? He was not._

( _He warned Rogue not to go on his own_ )

 _Rogue did not have a choice about going._

Rogue had gone on a job without him because he had needed Jewel.

 _And that was Sting's fault._

( _It was not._ )

 _But it was Sting's fault Rogue had no Jewel._

Rogue had not gone on a job in months because he had been doing Sting's work.

( _But he still did not have to go yet._ )

 _Yet._

( _Sting had offered to go on a job with him as soon as he got back from Era. He had warned Rogue to wait._ )

 _Warning him was not enough._

( _It was Rogue who–_ )

 _Rogue still went. Frosch still got hurt._

( _Sting tried to stop him!_ )

 _Sting should have been there!_

( _He could not!_ )

 _He should have found a way! He had promised he would never leave Rogue alone!_

( _Rogue was not alone! Minerva was there._ )

 _He trusted the master's daughter to protect Rogue better than him?_

( _He trusted his guild mate to protect Rogue as well as he could._ )

He had trusted Minerva with everything.

 _He should not have._

( _Why not?_ )

 _Because-_

( _She was his guild mate. A family member. Why should he not trust her?_ )

 _He should._

( _He should have trusted her, and he did. It was not his fault._ )

 _No._

No?

( _Yes. He should trust his guild mates._ )

 _Should he trust them to protect Rogue?_

( _Yes._ )

 _Should he trust them to take his place in the twin dragon's vow?_

No. That was his vow with Rogue. His.

 _And according to his vow…_

He should have been.

It was _his_ job to protect Rogue and Frosch.

It really was all–

( _No!_ )

 _Why not?_

…

…

 _It was…_

It was all his fault.

* * *

 **It was all his fault Rogue won.**

 **Did the voices make sense? It is supposed to be that the normal font is Sting's ground thoughts, the thoughts he takes as fact, the italics are thoughts from the shadow infecting Sting's thoughts, and the italics in parenthesis are Sting's untained thoughts arguing with the shadow. Could some people please review and tell me if this was the impression they got?**

 **Also, this was started before we found about who had killed Frosch, and I had to go back and change it once we found out (because seriously, who the hell saw that coming?), so I had to go back and change stuff, mainly the scene where Sting finds out. My apologies if that flows strangely.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and _please_ review!**


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